Tomorrow is election day in Montreal. Last time around, we elected Denis Coderre, ex-immigration minister, and ex-MP from Montreal North, where I grew up. I didn’t like him back then as immigration minister, and I did not vote him as Mayor. I disagree with many of the things he has done or wants to do:

• Formula-E boondoggle, which cost the city a lot of money and a lot of headaches and inconveniences to citizens.
• Cutting down over 1000 trees in Parc Jean Drapeau for the construction of a concert venue, which will mainly benefit a private promoter, Evenko.
• His fascination with bringing Major League Baseball back to the city (not a bad thing in and of itself!), likely with tax-payer money (which is where I fully disagree).

So he’s definitely not getting my vote this election either.

Today I had the pleasure of briefly meeting who I hope will be elected mayor today, Valérie Plante.

When she first won the leadership of the oppostion party, Projet Montréal, almost a year ago, I didn’t have much of an opinion of her. However, that has changed over the past few months, and especially over the spanse of the electoral campaign. The most important aspect which made her and Project Montréal win my vote, is the audacious idea of a new metro line for Montreal, the Pink Line (la Ligne Rose). The idea of this line is to relieve pressure on the eastern half of the Orange line (and Berri-UQAM station) which are operating at or above capacity during rush hour in particular, and also to serve poorer, dense neighbuorhoods that currently are far from any metro station and which cause long commute times for their residents; in particular, Montreal North!

The Pink Line; opening in 2025?

Here are some fascinating articles about this Pink Line and what it would entail:

• Announcement of the project on CBC News
• Analysis from CityLab
• Analysis from Anton Dubrau, lead programmer behind the Transit app

I look forward to casting my vote tomorrow, and to the future of transit in Montreal!

POSTSCRIPT:  She won!!

Excited about the future of transit in our fair city!!!!!!